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Friday, March 5, 2010

The 7 Word Weekend Review

All the week's new movies reviewed in 7 words.

Brooklyn's Finest - Woohoo, it's another cop movie! [See: irony]

Alice in Wonderland - *Sigh* I used to love Tim Burton.

Huh, short list this week.

Alice in Wonderland is supposedly a sequel. Mind you Lewis Caroll did write a sequel, though I doubt the two have much in common. Actually a lot of the elements in the sequel (Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There) were in the Classic Disney film. I've been known to be the annoying type that gets defensive on behalf of books which are subjected to bad adaptations. However in this instance, I've never been a fan of the source material.

Which isn't to say that it won't suck. Tim Burton hasn't really done much worthwhile in years. I was staunch defender of his when he first started his downhill slide. But when a few years back he mangled the ending of Big Fish, I gave up.

Speaking of bad adaptations, I was talking to a friend the other day when the subject of 'I Am Legend' came up. It may or may not have been in a discussion about good vampire literature versus Twilight. Naturally my friend thought 'I Am Legend' was a great movie. I on the other hand having read the book, completely hated it. Well that's not true. I liked the first half, even with the formula being messed with. The second half though and the ending... completely defeated the purpose of the story. If you haven't read the book, you should.

Of course, what's really disappointing is that is that it's not the first attempt to adapt it. There was a Vincent Price version, and a Charlton Heston version. Both were crap. With a sequel now in the works, I figure Richard Matheson will be long gone before a good adaptation of his novel even has a chance of happening.

Richard Matheson, one of the truly great horror writers. Stephen King has openly admitted to ripping off ideas from Matheson. As I grew up on the Twilight Zone, naturally I loved his stuff from the start. If you didn't know, Matheson is responsible for such classic episodes as 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet' (William Shatner on a plane) and 'Little Girl Lost' (the girl who slips through her wall into another dimension).

Now if I can distance myself from it, maybe the planned sequel to 'I Am Legend' will be better than the original. It is rare, but sequels are on occasion better then the original. Take for instance 'Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.' I love the original Bill &Ted's, but the sequel is just that much better. Which I suppose could raise the question as to whether or not a man's sequel (his son) can be better than him. Both Bill & Ted's movies were written by Chris Matheson, Richard Matheson's son. Course Chris also penned the 'Goofy Movie' (classic) and 'Imagine That', which I felt was underrated. Mind you I'm not suggesting that Chris is better than his father. I'm just saying, Bill & Ted's...

Certainly it does give hope to the possibility of Alice in Wonderland being a good sequel. Well, only time will tell I guess.

16 comments:

I am a Burton fan through and through. I was elated with "Sweeny Todd" being that it is one of my fav musicals of all time. I also like his animation quite a bit. I am looking forward to "Alice" mainly because the only adaptation of the book (I did my thesis on) I liked was a made for TV mini series in the 80s starring Roddy McDowel as the white rabbit. I wish I had more info on that. I am "curiouser and curioser" about what Burton will do with the film.

I too read "I am Legend" and found the film to be typical Hollywood fare. Mehhhhhhhh. It is sad too because the novel is extraordinary to say the least. Great post... I am long winded

"I am Legend" has a special place in my heart. I read it one summer after I read the 'Godfather' by Mario Puzo. I was all of 11 and both were books my mother thought wasn't good for me to read because they would introduce me to 'adult' themes. I think it was at that moment that I became a rebel like Johnny Yuma was a rebel and we all know what a rebel Johnny Yuma was.

Speaking of books made into movies, I read a terrific article in EMPIRE magazine about Alejandro Jadorowsky's attempts to make DUNE with people like Salvador Dali involved. Giger, Mobeus...would have been a hell of a trip. DUNE is my favorite book and while I have only seen a couple of Jadorowsky's films (he's batshit crazy) I would have loved to see what he did with the material.

I love Tim Burton and while I enjoyed "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" I do feel it was a disappointment and I feel that "Alice" is going to be the exact same. But I have to cop to loving "Big Fish" my dad is a huge story teller (and a very good one) and the film was visually beautiful, so it would have been hard for me not to like it.

I like Tim Burton but I'm not a big Alice fan... so I don't know what to expect. I'll be waiting for the dvd.

I didn't read I Am Legend but one of my friends explained the difference to me and it totally changed my perspective. I didn't really like the movie to start with, but after hearing how vastly it differed from the book... even more disappointing...

I have to say I am have enjoyed almost all of Tim Burton's movies. I really liked Sweeney Todd and I too have to admit I really liked Big Fish.

As for I am Legend, my wife loved it. I thought it was good but thought the alternate ending was way better then the original. I wouldn't mind seeing the second if the story is well written.

Speaking of Sequels that may or may not be better then the original did anyone see the special on Sci-Fi a while back called Tin Man which was a sequel to The Wizard of Oz? I actually really liked it and would recommend it to fans of the original, but want a darker tale.

I would think that Alice in 3D would be pretty awesome.... Tim Burton, unfortunately, has been trying to 'out-Burton' himself with every movie he makes. Fortunately for him, most of the worst movies that he puts out are better than most of the best movies from other directors.... I'll keep giving him a chance.

The second I saw the trailer for AiWL, all I could think was "God damnit, not again.." Im entirely out on the film, no interest in seeing it whatsoever. I want to see the Horror version from the hit 90s PC game Alice!!

I just found your comment on my photoblog...Good thing I look at my Blogger dashboard once in a while. I thought I recognized your name, but after following the link to your profile, I knew where I'd seen you before: Cal's!

I like Tim Burton well enough, but I'm not a huge buff or anything. I am very curious about his version of Alice, though, because I am a fan of that story and have been since I was a child. I think Burton's style would work well with Carroll's vision. Of course I live in the boonies, so seeing this any time soon is not going to happen.

TS - I LOVED Pushing Daisies. And just in case you are unaware of it. Brian Fuller made another show that aired for less than one season on Fox back in like 2003(?) called "Wonderfalls" - it features one or two of the same actors, there are a few references and inside jokes embedded in Pushing Daises, and although ENTIRELY different in plot and visuals and writing style, it still has the same quirky feel and the same type of humor. So fantastic. If you haven't seen it, please check it out.

Other than Edward Scissorhands and Beetle Juice, I never really paid much attention to Tim Burton and now the hubs wants to see this in 3D. So not looking forward to it. I have friends that are fanatics collecting rare and weird stuff, they keep them in display cases, etc.

I'd say Burton nailed the B movies (Batman and Beetle). It's the classic remakes I think he goes a bit overboard with. Too drawn out. Though the standout to his recent crop of pix has to be Helen B. Carter. She is truly one of the most underrated actresses. Though lately she's been just relegated to a Depp punchline partner. How sad is that?